French Country Cards
Reminiscent of the French countryside, this stunning collection of cards offers simple messages styled with elegant charm and grace. If you allow your mind to wander, one could almost envision a rose-covered bed and breakfast tucked into a quiet hillside. Breakfast is ready and the air is filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee waiting in steaming white mugs. A basket of warm bread stands at the ready while you cozy up in a rose chintz-covered chair and begin to read. Who knows where your mind will take you…anything is possible!

Happy Birthday Monsters
Research has proven that whether two-eyed and two-legged, or three-eyed and three-legged, monsters get their kicks by trying to eat little kids at birthday parties. Not to worry…these monsters eat paper and then blow up into balloons!

Blooming Birthday
“Bloomers” are swirl stamps that grow into flowers. Simply stamp the swirl desired onto patterned paper or cardstock, cut out using decorative edge scissors, then curl and shape as desired. It’s that easy and that much fun!

Classic Black
Called “an entire wardrobe” onto itself when paired with jackets, scarves, purses, and jewelry, the “little black dress” is a simple yet elegant fashion statement that has endured for over ninety years. Famed French designer “Coco” Chanel has been credited with creating this garment icon when she first introduced “the little black dress” to the fashion world in 1915. The color Black symbolizes elegance, authority, power and sophistication. Simply put, when in doubt, you can never go wrong with Black!

Foiled Again
The simple layering of different-sized squares lends classic appeal to these elegantly embossed foiled cards. Decorative buttons crown the silk flower centers, while knotted ribbons provide a refined finishing touch.

Trifold Love
Silver and rhinestone brads and painted gold accents beautifully team up with a classic Harlequin stamp design, making this Love card the perfect choice for a wedding or anniversary.

Button-Up Greetings
When selecting a patterned paper for card making, take a close look to see if there is any aspect in the design that you want to capitalize on. The Thanks card featured here turns a straight line into a flower stem with the help of a fine-tip black pen, while a petal-shaped button crowns the top of the stem. Using colorful and oversized metal corners is a great way to frame a sentiment and adds a cheery finishing touch to your greeting.

Peachy Keen
Wouldn’t it be nice if everything was just “peachy keen” all of the time? Unfortunately, it’s not, but these cards are sure to get a jump on feeling peachy keen most of the time!

Timeless Beauties
The choice of colored papers and cardstock is of major importance when sitting down to make cards and other paper crafting projects. Color and pattern set the tone and play a significant role in the successful outcome of your work. The beautiful collection of vintage cards featured here captures all the richness of autumn’s splendor with the careful pairing of both papers and other embellishments. The use of black cardstock and black edged ribbons in ruby red and emerald green provide just the right amount of drama and punch.

Ghoulish Greetings
Thinking of scaring up some fun by hosting a fright-night bash this Halloween? How about just sending a friendly Boo! to your favorite goblin? Either way, this bewitching collection of cards presents great ideas for celebrating one of the most popular times of the year.

Give Thanks
Personalizing your cards can be easily accomplished by adding just one or two fine details like the card featured here. First, several leaves were stamped on top of the cardstock and patterned paper. One set of leaves was left plain, while the other set was colored with fine-tip markers. A white gel pen was used to make small circles within each scallop and gives the image a clean, crisp “pop.”

A Very Good Year
You don’t have to be a wine connoisseur or vineyard owner to host a wine tasting get-together. Bold and robust, this party invitation features a bouquet of sophisticated collage images, setting the stage for both your event and guests. Stencil software by Carving Technologies makes it easy to transform personal digital photos into unique and elegant paper crafting projects like the one featured here.

Life’s a Bowl of Cherries
Decorating your home with vintage items is still a hot ticket, but they’re getting more scarce and more pricey. Designer Diane Schultz from Graphic 45 shows you how to make your own art by turning those “would-be-throw-aways” into classy and unique pieces that have real WOW power. Diane easily transformed a metal plate and tray and a wire frame saucer into stunning accent pieces that you’ll be proud to display. So, when starting your fall cleaning this year, look at the pile of stuff you thought was headed for the garbage with an artistic eye, and get creative!

Flavorful Favors
Brightly colored and decorated with feathers and crepe paper streamers, the collection of favors featured here are sure to add a special dose of splash to any celebration you’re planning. Both the clown and hat favors are made from a simple cone shape and sit atop inexpensive papier-mâché boxes. The basket favors sport a ruffled crepe paper ruffle and glitter trimmings.

Haunted Castle Album
This castle album has endless possibilities for a creative imagination. Designer Cheryl Mezzetti opted for a Halloween theme, using an assortment of bewitching papers and other embellishments to create a frightfully good photo album. Simply trace the castle pages onto patterned papers of choice or those listed. Cut out and adhere. Then let the designs and photos inspire you to embellish with stickers and word phrases as desired.

Creating with Pigment Ink Pads
When stamping was in its infancy, there were very few ink pad options available. Today, there is an ink made for every surface and application. This can be an overwhelming dilemma for someone just starting out, and confusing to even the most seasoned stamper. Inks are categorized as dye, pigment, solvent, and oil-based. To make things even more complicated, there is a range of “hybrid” inks that are made for specific applications and techniques.

Our focus for the projects featured here will be pigment ink pads. A brief, but important, chemistry lesson is the common misconception that pigment means “embossable” or “wet.” In reality, a pigment is a “solid” that is suspended in a liquid. Thus, when the pigment colorant is mixed with the ink formulation, the coloration on paper is opaque (opacity is the degree through which light is blocked). Most pigment inks are mixed into a formula that when placed into an ink pad and used in a stamping project, it stays wet longer than most dye-based ink pads. This is why pigment pads are a common use for embossing.

When comparing pigment ink pad brands, there are many different formulations, but all work on the same basic principles. The following card samples show how versatile pigment ink pads are and will help you to decide what ink to use for your next project. Tip: Pigment ink will air dry on matte paper and cardstock. To speed up the drying process, use a heat tool.

Applying the ink pad directly onto your paper or other surface produces a smooth, paint-like effect. This technique works well on chipboard and other matte surfaces like the grungeboard used in the card featured here.

Creative Cards for Kids

Kids‘ birthdays: Bright, cheerful and full of fun and festivities! Yet for some reason, it can be hard to find inspiring kids’ birthday card ideas. While intricate techniques and attention to detail might be important in creating your everyday cards, in this case, it’s all about getting the child’s attention (if only for a brief moment!).

Color, different size elements, and simplicity are often most important when crafting cards for children. Bright colors and large images or embellishments typically work best to get the attention of a small child. Feature a vibrant-colored metal embellishment or monogram as a focal point, or celebrate with a favorite theme. Themed cards or cards with interactive features are big hits with kids of all ages. Focus on their favorite cartoon character, or select a more general theme like princesses or pirates to pique their interest. Add tags, paper flaps, and other elements to grab their attention.